The Dock

"Grays Lake Dock," wc/ink on paper, ~5x15

Last weekend we selected Grays Lake for a visit from the sketch group. As always, of course, people chose other venues too. I set up on a picnic table near the parking lot, by a floating dock they put out every summer. Two guys were on the dock but weren't fishing. In the distance across the lake you could just see a pedestrian walkway that skirts the opposite shore. 

This began as a graphite sketch, after which I added watercolor. The two fishermen on the dock and the dock itself were accented with ink. 
 

Goldsworthy Group

Andy Goldsworthy has a piece in the garden surrounding the Des Moines Art Center entitled Three Cairns. Materials used in Goldsworthy's art include natural materials, from flowers, leaves, and twigs to stone. This is because of his intense commitment to nature and an intent to work with its entirety. The piece is just south of the Art Center buildings, situated just by rose garden that's currently in full flower.  The three large cairns are perhaps 8 feet tall while a central, pear-shaped cairn is perhaps five feet. The pieces are limestone, carefully dressed and laid without mortar. The Art Center's original building is clad in a similar limestone. There are two other cairns, one in New York and one in San Diego, which with this one form a nation-wide sculptural group. 

"Goldsworthy Group[," wc/ink on paper ~5x14"

Our sketch group elected to stay on the grounds of Greenwood Park, which contains the Art Center, rose garden and a number of outdoor sculptures, including works by Richard Serra and Henry Moore, among others. I sat at the edge of the rose garden on a stone bench to draw Three Cairns in the wooded area they occupy. Built in 2002, these have become popular as backgrounds for wedding photos and other significant events, as happened Saturday. A bride and groom in full dress were posing among the cairns while several of us worked away. 

Because I enjoy a panoramic view I started on the left side of the open sketchbook with a fairly detailed graphite sketch then proceeded directly to full-bodied watercolor, sometimes trying for translucent or transparent effects, sometimes trying for opacity by loading thicker, nearly dry pigment for dark values. After I was mostly satisfied with the colors and values I accentuated parts of the cairns to emphasize the center of interest.

 

Sculpture Park Panorama

"Sculpture Park View," wc/ink on paper, 5x16

Last week I stopped at the Pappajohn Sculpture Park downtown and spent a couple of hours on a view of one of the sculptures and the contemporary buildings across the street. The sculpture is T-8, a huge work (28.6 × 24 × 37 ft.) by Mark di Suvero, an abstract expressionist whose sculptures reside in U.S. collections and worldwide. The artist is well-known for having made cranes and heavy equipment part of his sculptural tools. He takes great pride in making and assembling is art on-site. This particular work was one of the group originally donated to the city by John and Mary Pappajohn. The long building across the street was designed by Renzo Piano (famous for the Pompidou Center in Paris) as headquarters for the Krause Group, based here.  

As ever this watercolor began as a graphite sketch, then watercolor and ink were applied to finish.  

Grays Lake Sketch

"Grays Lake," wc/ink on paper, 5x10

As a personal exercise in keeping sketches loose and not overwork them, I did the sketch above in perhaps forty minutes, sitting a shady parking spot at Grays Lake in the park not far from my studio. It was a wonderful late spring day with a soft south breeze. The lake was smooth, placid, the color of polished pewter. I was drawn by the old, v-shaped tree and the rocky bank. The work was a standard graphite sketch followed by watercolor, then inked details here and there. 

In the Garden

"Lantern," oil on canvas, 20x16

Sometimes a limited perspective is useful. This painting focuses on a metal reproduction of an Asian lantern hanging on a shepherd's crook in one of my gardens. The retaining wall behind and the trees above formed a wonderful backdrop in this shady spot. 

This particular work has been a favorite of mine and remains in my private collection
 

Anthony's Garden Redux

Our Saturday sketch group revisited a favorite spot last weekend--a private garden that welcomed us warmly a couple of weeks ago. The day was delightfully sunny with a faint breeze. Our group scattered through the garden, many finding a place to sketch near the tall central fountain. Although I've drawn this particular feature numerous times, it continues to be a challenge. Giant mature trees and well-maintained hedges and shrubs add to the peaceful atmosphere. Although this is a working fountain and was running at the time I chose to depict it without attempting to render the myriad rivulets and splashes. 

As is my usual practice, I began with a fairly accurate graphite drawing of the fountain. When drawing any vertical object--bottles for example--it's useful to establish a vertical as a center line and draw the symmetrical parts equally distant. In general, when drawing it's useful to draw shapes rather than objects, so I made the bowl shapes match as closely, side to side, as possible. 

After drawing, I added colors in a range of values and chroma. The changing colors of the fountain were the result of reflected sun, since the basin below is painted blue. To bring the fountain forward in the image I added ink lines to show shapes and suggest ornamentation. Distant shapes like the windows were kept looser, with edges considerably less distant. 

 

 

Demo Garden

For the past several years, the gardens downtown that are part of Better Homes and Gardens magazine have been an occasional sketching subject. The gardens are beautiful in concept and execution, and represent outstanding examples of garden design and maintenance. Because the gardens are used for various publications and purposes, they are only open to the public Fridays, noon to 2pm, May through September. 

"Better Homes Test Garden," wc/ink

Last Friday was my first visit to the gardens this year, on a beautiful late spring day. The sun was out and a light breeze played through the branches above. I sat in the central paved area--patio?--at one of several wrought iron tables, next to its central, multi-tier fountain. Others were sitting here and there while more toured the pathways among glowing flower beds. My view was to the north, toward downtown Des Moines but screened by large evergreens and deciduous trees. In front of those were bright red Japanese maples, stuck by mid-day sun and footed by a small green meadow. In front of the green, spiral-trunked crabapples stood like sentinels. The fountain bubbled and frothed just to my left as I tried to capture the multiple layers, colors and textures. This sketch began as a graphite sketch to which watercolor and ink were added.